Nightmare Assault

Chapter 144: Uncle

Jiang Cheng noticed the sunlight on his shoulders. He turned around and realised the sun was already almost down the mountain. From the moment they infiltrated the Qian Family’s main house to now, it shouldn’t be more than two hours. They entered the large building at noon. How did the sun set so fast?

“We don’t have much time left.” Chen Xiaomeng glanced at the setting sun. “As the mission nears its end, the anomalies in the world we’re in will be more obvious.”

Jiang Cheng nodded. That matched his previous experience. The day became shorter until the world sank into eternal night.

“Do you still remember our earlier hypothesis?” Chen Xiaomeng said rapidly, “The ghost displayed her victims around An Ping Town because someone she wanted to kill was hiding in that town.

“To end this mission, we have to find that person.”

“Someone from the Qian Family,” Jiang Cheng said.

Chen Xiaomeng nodded. “That should be the case. The village head said that the former Village Head Qian had three sons and they all died to the ghosts. However, based on the family pictures, he should have four sons! The last one should be hiding in An Ping Town!

“Once we find him and send him out of An Ping Town, I believe this mission will be over.”

Jiang Cheng frowned.

Chen Xiaomeng looked at him and gasped, “Don’t tell me you pity the man?” In Chen Xiaomeng’s mind, someone with an anti-social personality wouldn’t care about their family, much less strangers. They had no pity.

“It’s not that.” Jiang Cheng shook his head. “I believe the ghost is not looking for a he but a she.”

“What?!”

Then, Jiang Cheng shared the scene that he saw at An Ping Inn with Chen Xiaomeng. The latter was stunned. “Are you saying there’s a woman with a ruined face hidden in the secret room on the third floor of An Ping Inn?”

“Yes.”

“That is why you wasted so much time with Zhou Rong upstairs that time.”

“Yes.” Jiang Cheng huffed indignantly. “I wanted to tell you all, but Zhou Rong denied it. He threatened me that if I breathed a word about this, he would punish me and then come after the rest of you.”

Chen Xiaomeng, “...”

Jiang Cheng waited for a while and asked, “Aren’t you going to thank me?”

Chen Xiaomeng rolled her eyes at him. “The reason you’re telling me this now is because An Ping Inn is a place with valuable clues. There are great risks involved. You want me to go with you to share the risks. If anything, you should thank me.”

Jiang Cheng tutted, “I think I should send you back to the ghost. How can you think of me like that?”

“Stop wasting time.” Chen Xiaomeng crossed her legs. She radiated an imposing aura. “What do you want to do next?”

Suddenly, Jiang Cheng jumped up as if he just remembered something. This shocked Chen Xiaomeng quite a bit. She thought the ghost was after them. “I still have a date.” Jiang Cheng said, “I almost forgot.”

“A date?”

“Yes.” Jiang Cheng filched the two pictures and ran out. “I’ll be going. You can do whatever you want.” Then, Jiang Cheng disappeared from the courtyard.

Chen Xiaomeng gritted her teeth and followed him. The two pictures were too important. The sunset lasted longer than Jiang Cheng anticipated. He followed the pebbled path and reached a simple yard. There, he saw the familiar figure standing under the tree, looking around. “Hong Hong,” Jiang Cheng greeted her, “I’m here.” To Jiang Cheng’s surprise, the girl didn’t react as friendly as last time. She stood motionlessly and had a strange expression.

Chen Xiaomeng caught up to them by then. When she saw Hong Hong, she scolded Jiang Cheng for his shamelessness.

Hong Hong’s frozen hands gripped the edge of her cotton shirt. She said unnaturally, “You need to stop looking for me. Mom said that I’m still young. There should be distance between…” At this point, Hong Hong appeared to forget her lines. She pulled on her braids anxiously.

“There should be distance between males and females.” Chen Xiaomeng walked over with a smile. Compared to Jiang Cheng, she was indeed more approachable. She took out a fruit from her chest. Who knew when she got it? She teased Hong Hong, “Big sister is not a male. Can we be friends?”

Hong Hong stared at the fruit with great desire, but she didn’t move.

Until…

CREAK

The yard gate opened. Chen Xiaomeng and Jiang Cheng looked over at the same time. A properly dressed man walked out. He looked around 35. He wore a yellow top and a pair of green pants. He appeared quite spirited. He waved at Hong Hong. Hong Hong took one farewell glance at the fruit. Then, she ran back into the yard and stood close to the man.

Then, the man raised his head to smile at Jiang Cheng and Chen Xiaomeng, “You must be the experts hired by the village head. Thank you for coming here to help us.”

Chen Xiaomeng studied him. “And you are..?”

The man rolled up his sleeves as he walked into the vegetable patch in the yard. He dealt with the weeds with ease as he replied, “I’m Hong Hong’s uncle. I came today to help with the yard. Hong Hong’s mother has a hard time looking after Hong Hong on her own. Now that she is sick, I should come to help her.”

“It must be hard for you.” Chen Xiaomeng nodded.

“It’s nothing.” The man answered, “Hong Hong’s mother has it harder than me. I haven’t been here to help her in a while already.”

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes and changed the subject, “I heard that Hong Hong’s grandmother is sick. How is she now?”

At this point, the man sighed. Dark clouds surrounded him. He resumed, “Hong Hong’s grandmother suffers from her seasonal illnesses. It’s especially serious this year. She can’t even speak or get up from bed anymore.”

“That serious?” Jiang Cheng aimed to walk into the yard. “I know a bit of medicine. Let me see if…”

The man instantly moved to stop him. “We appreciate the expert’s good intentions. However, Hong Hong’s grandmother’s condition is very complicated. The villagers have already sent her to the city. The medical system there is better. It’s much better than the village doctors we have here.”

“Then, Hong Hong’s mother should be home, right?” Jiang Cheng asked with concern, “I’m a doctor from the city. I should be able to help her.”